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Michael D. Van Loy, PhD

Member

[email protected]

+1.858.314.1559

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Michael is a skilled patent attorney and technology protection strategist. He works with both growing and established companies to create, manage, and improve patent portfolios both in the US and worldwide. He works closely with experts in key patent jurisdictions worldwide to maximize enforceability and business value of clients' intellectual property rights.  Michael also advises clients on business-critical IP due diligence issues, patent portfolio valuation, and licensing agreements and has been instrumental in creative resolutions of potential IP roadblocks in high value transactions. 

Clients rely on Michael’s extensive experience, accumulated over 20 years of legal practice, to navigate the nuances of patent procurement and enforcement in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North and South America.  His skills in mining existing patent assets to enhance their value and in designing and implementing programs for protecting ongoing innovations are highly sought after by cutting edge technology companies.

Experience

  • Michael leads the Mintz team responsible for development and management of the worldwide patent portfolio protecting current and future products of a market leading e-cigarette manufacturer.  He applies innovative asset development strategies to leverage existing disclosures and on-going utility and design filings as part of an integrated, global strategy to interdict copycat products with a view toward market share protection and regulatory compliance.
  • Michael co-manages a sizable portfolio for a market-leading German developer of database and business software products, and collaborates with other Mintz attorneys to develop and apply effective strategies for addressing the ever-changing patentability landscape for software-based inventions.
  • Michael also co-manages the Mintz team that designs and implements a US and foreign patent program for one of the world's largest credit rating agencies, which is also a leader in fraud detection and other financial risk mitigation technology. The Mintz team has tailored the company's portfolio and filing strategies with a particular focus on jurisdiction and subject matter analysis to maximize the value of the company’s legal spend while securing protection in the markets where the company is most likely to achieve grant of valuable, enforceable assets.
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viewpoints

Compulsory licensing is a practice that allows a third party to produce or use a patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner.  The practice may be implemented to ensure patent owners are utilizing the technology in which they were granted exclusive rights.

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Understanding the implications of venture capital funding on a company’s size classification is crucial, especially when it jeopardizes its “small entity” status and raises concerns with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Member Michael D. Van Loy, PhD and Associates Jessica Zhang and Qi Zhang break down these complexities, underscoring the importance of accurately determining entity status to avoid pitfalls such as patent invalidation.

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The new Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the Unitary Patent (UP) system are scheduled to kick off on June 1, 2023, with the Sunrise Period for requesting “opt outs” beginning March 1, 2023.

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Tasked with starting an innovation protection and patent development program at your company but do not know where to begin? This three part series describes the key components to a patent development program for any company, small or large. This second installment in the series describes subject matter for educating the innovator technical team tasked with developing or evaluating potential patentable innovations within a company.
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Tasked with starting an innovation protection and patent development program at your company but do not know where to begin? This three part series describes the key components to a patent development program for any company, small or large.
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As we noted in Are Design Patents Missing From Your IP Portfolio, a design patent protects the visual ornamental characteristics of an article and can be an important part of a company’s patent portfolio. Like other patent rights, design patent applications may be filed internationally to expand the number of countries in which a company’s designs are protected.
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It is now over 10 years since the Bilski decision was handed down by the United States Supreme Court.  In that decision and several other decisions that followed (i.e., Mayo, Myriad, and Alice), the Supreme Court pronounced patent claims directed to abstract ideas not eligible for patent protection.
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A design patent protects the visual ornamental characteristics of an article, including consumer and industrial products, medical devices and related tools, sports equipment, jewelry, product packaging, and even web-based and mobile graphical user interfaces and icons.
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The Federal Circuit recently ruled that state sovereign immunity does not apply in Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceedings, closing another America Invents Act (AIA) loophole.  The case, Regents of the University of Minnesota v. LSI Corporation and Avago Technologies U.S. Inc. (Fed. Circ., 2018-1559), included the review of six Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) IPRs where the Regents of the University of Minnesota (UMN) filed motions to dismiss based on state sovereign immunity. 
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In the recent decision of Clarilogic v. Formfree Holdings, the Federal Circuit invalidated the patentee’s (Formfree) claim to a “computer-implemented method for providing certified financial data indicating financial risk about an individual.” 
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News & Press

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187 Mintz attorneys have been recognized by Best Lawyers® in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Notably, three Mintz attorneys received 2025 “Lawyer of the Year” awards, and 64 firm attorneys were included in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

Press Release Thumbnail Mintz

Mintz is pleased to announce that 120 firm attorneys have been recognized as leaders by Best Lawyers® in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©.

Press Release Thumbnail Mintz

Best Lawyers® recognized 108 firm attorneys in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Notably, two Mintz attorneys – Poonam Patidar and Scott M. Stanton – received 2023 “Lawyer of the Year” awards, and 28 firm attorneys were included in the inaugural edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

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Events & Speaking

Speaker
Apr
23
2021

Masterclass: Patents 101

FORGE

Virtual Event

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Speaker
May
14
2018

USPTO Post-Grant Patent Trials 2018: Change & Recalibration

Practising Law Institute

PLI California Center 685 Market Street San Francisco, CA

Panelist
Aug
8
2016

Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, California

Speaker
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Recognition & Awards

  • Best Lawyers in America: Patent Law (2021-2025)

  • Included on the San Diego Super Lawyers Rising Star: Intellectual Property list (2016)

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